weird science

weird science

Exploring the Fascinating World of Weird Science

1. Introduction to Weird Science

Weird science deals with experiences and phenomena that can challenge our long-held and often deep-seated personal beliefs. Some examples of weird science deal with real and present dangers to aircraft and their passengers. Many of us know that ordinary metal objects can become lightning magnets in thunderstorms. This well-known phenomenon has always raised questions about the safety of aircraft in thunderstorms. Believe it or not, airplane safety regulations are only based on the theoretical possibility of lightning damage to plane systems. This might just be another example of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s increasingly controversial relationships with the airlines, but this topic is far too complex to be explored here!

As a dedicated science nerd, I’ve always been enthralled by two kinds of scientific research and discovery: mainstream science and what I love to call “weird science.” The difference between the two is that mainstream science deals with what is already known, what can be explained by the accepted laws of physics, and the things that the vast majority of us consider to be real, logical, and understandable. Weird science, on the other hand, often deals with experiences, phenomena, and discoveries that most of us think are not real, not understandable, and not explicable.

2. The History and Evolution of Unconventional Scientific Practices

While a relatively new field of study, the history of weird science can be traced back at least as far as ancient Greece, and over the years, many notable individuals have encountered – and responded to – the intensely charged emotional and ethical concerns involved. What we think of today as weird science has evolved in response to broader changes in culture and politics. For instance, considerations about the ecological and environmental consequences of nuclear testing served as a backdrop to a lot of the early – and strange – science humanities scholars now study. And contemporary concerns that include discussing generating energy from nuclear fusion, dealing with climate change, and understanding the nature of neuroscience serve as contemporary motivations for some of the curious work discussed within the book. At the same time, the ways in which weird science operates is inflected by an array of both popular and esoteric forms of pressure, including institutional organization, funding, family, and academic management and occupational competition.

3. Bizarre Experiments and Outlandish Hypotheses

A second example is taken from Lord Rayleigh’s early experiments. Here, an apparent absence of correlation absorbed the attention of the young physicist. It had been previously observed that objects launched in random failures from the deck of a moving ship were received by the experimenter at the same place. In other words, there was no average relative velocity between the object and the recipient. The matter was puzzling, and was resolved by Rayleigh using Galilei-invariant statistical principles. These examples emphasize what we take to be a central tenet of evolution of scientific thought: in some special circumstances, it is possible to learn a great deal from a small-scale experiment, or to put together a tenable model starting from simple, natural-sounding assumptions. The interest of the exercise depends only upon the quality of the final result, and not upon the amount of labor or ingenuity that has been invested in the process of learning.

The glamorous age of science was an era when discoveries of far-reaching importance came about as a consequence of relatively simple experiments. As a first example, we mention Galileo’s fabulous demonstration reported, perhaps apocryphally, of how fast bodies fall under gravity. According to the great historian of science, Pierre Duhem, the discovery of the principle of inertia can be credited, not to the legendary slide down the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but rather to the revealing contradiction posed by some straightforwardly crafted logical arguments, supported by crude experimental tests carried out at Pisa.

4. The Intersection of Science and the Paranormal

Once we have acquired evidence of a potential paranormal event, testing continues. This is often difficult to complete because we can’t travel to the ethereal realms and we can’t control another’s abilities to signal being tested. Furthermore, very little money is spent on research in this area. Paranormal investigation groups do not have the money to conduct legitimate experiments. Oftentimes, they acquire repetitive occurrence data but are unable to conduct measurements on each event. Instead, they employ various survey methods that may give insight to repetitive occurrences, but do not truly test or explain the phenomenon. Others debunk the findings by frequently fluctuating large and inaccurate on-site measurements with no additional data collection that possibly explain the source in question.

Legitimate scientists remove subjective biases and test potential physical phenomena using standard scientific research methodologies. Once we have identified and removed every known nonparanormal potential cause, our event remains unexplained. This lack of understanding isn’t evidence of a paranormal event, it’s simply evidence we currently don’t understand the cause of the event. I have found that by following the scientific method but not making premature declarations of a paranormal nature often results in the documenting of previously unreported events. Often, preconceived biases interfere with useful data collection. In the example given before, the individuals observing the wildlife behavior events were convinced the events could be best explained by a subjective belief. The subjective belief interfered with a truly scientific understanding of observable evidence.

5. Ethical Considerations in the Realm of Weird Science

Thus, the first ethical question raised by human genetic therapy is whether genetic engineering should be viewed as a therapeutic means to correct a hereditary genetic defect or as part of normal reproductive planning. Alternatively, a genetic defect could be related to an increased susceptibility to a multifactorial disease, in which case the question may be the acceptability of germ-line changes for the purpose of preventing the disease in future generations. A second category of therapeutic concerns social problems related to the development of genetic therapies—prompting discussion about both the promised benefits and the possible problems. Despite all the challenges and ethical concerns, the future for human genetic therapy is bright, provided caution and patience accompany the so-far accelerated pace of research.

Ethical concerns permeate the weird and fantastic that we so love about science fiction. Many of these dilemmas stem from possible uses of the scientific advances under conditions of economic scarcity, political inequity, and diverse power relationships. From stem cells to human genetic therapies and human cloning, ethical questions abound. How far down the slippery slope is it appropriate to slip when it comes to the use of human therapy research to justify the production of a genetically altered human being? If the motivation is pure, should complete financial and resource support be given to such endeavors? How would the new genetic individual, who represents the impossible gene, view itself in relation to others, and vice versa? Would the enhancement result in a superior species? If so, how would the new genetic individual’s needs and desires be satisfied? Would the result negate the importance of culturally defined norms? Such dilemmas reflect a preoccupation with the appropriateness of applications of genetic information.